FAQs

New Users - Questions:

1. Who can sign up for health-evidence.ca?
2. Is there a charge for the service?
3. Why should I sign up for health-evidence.ca?
4. I am trying to log in and get a message that the username already exists. Is it possible that I have already signed up at an earlier time?
5. What about privacy?

Registered Users - Questions:

1. Can I access the full-text articles from health-evidence.ca?
2. When I click on the Cochrane link, the page that shows up asks for my ID and password. How do I get to the review?
3. What are the summary statements?
4. How do you cite a summary statement from Health-evidence.ca?
5. What is your search strategy and where can I find more information about it?
6. What process does a review go through to be added to the registry?
7. I have searched your registry but with limited results. Do you have any suggestions?
8. Can I email any of the resources to a friend or colleague directly from the site?
9. Are you evaluating the effectiveness of this website as a knowledge transfer tool?
10. Is there a discussion group related to your site that I can join?

New Users - Answers:

1. Who can sign up for health-evidence.ca?
   

   Anyone can become a registered user, and access to the web site is free. As the site contains reviews of the effectiveness of public health interventions, it is targeted to public health decision makers; however, there is no restriction on who can register.




2. Is there a charge for the service?
   

   There is no charge for the service.




3. Why should I sign up for health-evidence.ca?
   

   By registering, you can tailor your search results to match your area of interest, and you can choose to receive updates on recently completed reviews in your particular areas of interest only. For more information, please see “Why health-evidence.ca” by clicking here.




4. I am trying to log in and get a message that the username already exists. Is it possible that I have already signed up at an earlier time?
   

   If you are receiving the message that your username already exists, you have signed up earlier and created an account with health-evidence.ca using your e-mail address. Please try signing in with your username and password. If you have forgotten your password, type in your username in the box “Forgot Password” on the login page and you will be emailed your password.




5. What about privacy?
   

   Health-evidence.ca respects the privacy of its users and will protect that privacy as vigorously as possible. For more information on our privacy policy, please see our Privacy and Security Policy. Health-evidence.ca will collect only information that is voluntarily provided by the user and undertakes that such information will be kept strictly confidential. Individual information provided to the Health-evidence.ca to gain access to any Health-evidence.ca site will not be sold or made available to a third party.

Registered Users - Answers:

1. Can I access the full-text articles from health-evidence.ca?
   

   While health-evidence.ca does not have the resources to purchase permissions for all of the full reviews from their various publishers, we have linked users to the text that are freely available online. Where publicly available, you will see the link to the full document in the reference section. As well, health-evidence.ca has added IP authentication functionality to the web site so that employees of organizations with access to a particular electronic resource will be able to link directly to additional reviews providing that the IP address of the computer you are working on is within the range of those registered with that particular e-resource. Currently, full-text links to references housed in the Cochrane Library are accessible to those who subscribe to OVID and are within their IP-authenticated range. We are working to add other sources of reviews to the greatest extent possible.




2. When I click on the Cochrane link, the page that shows up asks for my ID and password. How do I get to the review?
   When you click the link provided in our Cochrane references, if you see an OVID login page, you may not have a current subscription to Cochrane through OVID Technologies or Wiley InterScience. If you are unsure whether you hold a subscription to Cochrane, please contact your public health librarian to inquire about your library’s current holdings. If you hold a subscription to Cochrane through OVID and still are unable to access the full-text reviews, you may be working on a computer that is not within the IP-authenticated range. To enquire whether your computer is within the IP-authenticated range, you will need to contact your public health librarian. There you may also obtain your ID and password (if available).




3. What are the summary statements?
   

   Summary statements present a concise synthesis of the research evidence along with practical implications for policy and practice within a Canadian context. For each summary statement an overview of the issue is provided along with a summary of the review content, a commentary on the methodological quality, and a statement about whether the review provides cost-effectiveness data. Summary statement authors filter key findings from the review, and practice experts are recruited to draw practical implications for programming and policy making. Summary statements highlight the results of a full review in a 2-page format. Although not available for all reviews on health-evidence.ca, summary statements (in pdf format) are available for many methodologically strong and moderate reviews within our registry. You can access summary statements in .pdf format (where available) by clicking on the summary statement link under 'Resource Attachments' near the bottom of a reference’s page. Download the latest version of Adobe Reader.




4. How do you cite a summary statement from health-evidence.ca?
   

   The following citation is how you would cite a summary statement found in health-evidence.ca (APA, 5th edition): Author of Summary Statement. (Year). Summary Statement (Q# of review on health-evidence.ca). Retrieved (date) from (url). Summary on: APA Review Citation.
   
   For example:
   
   Robeson, P. (2004). Summary Statement (Q16121). Retrieved October 4, 2006 from http://health-evidence.ca/attachments/Thomas%20(2004)%20summary%20statement%20-%20english.pdf. Summary on: Thomas, H., Ciliska, D., Micucci, S., Wilson-Abra, J., & Dobbins, M. (2004). Effectiveness of physical activity enhancement and obesity prevention programs in children and youth. Hamilton, Ontario: Public Health Research Education and Development Program. Effective Public Health Practice Project.




5. What is your search strategy and where can I find more information about it?
   

   We used a comprehensive search strategy to locate reviews, so you can be confident that should there be a review published in your area, we would have found it. To view our search strategy, please see our Project Methodology If you are experiencing difficulties with a search, or searching an area we do not have listed, please Contact Us and we will be happy to reply.




6. What process does a review go through to be added to the registry?
   

   Project staff test all reviews for relevance to public health and health promotion (view relevance tool), and index them using common public health and health promotion terms (view keyword tool). Two staff members independently appraise each review for methodological quality (view quality assessment tool). Discrepancies in review quality rating are resolved by discussion, and the final review quality rating is agreed upon by both reviewers. A third reviewer assists in reaching consensus when necessary. To view the tools and dictionaries used in this process, please see our Judge for Yourself page.




7. I have searched your registry but with limited results. Do you have any suggestions?
   

   In the fields of public health, health promotion, and population health there are relatively fewer systematic reviews as compared with other clinical areas. Thus, gaps in the review literature certainly exist. Further, the quantity of research that is available in review form may not be at all proportional to the magnitude of the issue. Our plan is to identify these gaps, advocate for the development of reviews to address them, and/or search the unpublished or “grey” literature in attempts to fill those gaps. To improve the success of your search strategies on this and other databases, use the acronym PICO (P = Population, I = Intervention, C = Comparisons, O = Outcomes) to guide the identification of keywords to include in your search. Prior to searching, take the valuable time to consider these elements of the clinical question you are attempting to seek information to address. Ask yourself, How would you describe the population? Which main intervention or exposure do you want to consider? What is the main alternative to compare with the intervention? (Although there main not be one. This field is optional) In which outcome(s) are you interested. Consider alternatives to your chosen PICO responses (i.e., other potential search terms). For example, physical activity may also be referred to by using “exercise”; obesity literature may be found by searching “body weight” or “overweight”.
   
   Health-evidence.ca focuses on providing evidence related to the effectiveness of public health interventions, particularly in the areas of prevention, health protection, and health promotion. Unsuccessful searches may be due to the lack of review evidence on a particular issue in these health fields or the topic may be better address through searches in other health areas.
   
   Of courses, you are welcome to e-mail us through the Contact Us link on the web site and we can double check our content for a match with your search criteria




8. Can I email any of the resources to a friend or colleague directly from the site?
   

   Yes. On the right-hand column of each reference entry there is an “Email Reference” link. By clicking the link, you will be directed to a page where you can email this reference to either yourself or up five other recipients. The email received will have a link to the reference you have selected.




9. Are you evaluating the effectiveness of this website as a knowledge transfer and exchange tool?
   

   This web site is part of a randomized controlled trial completed in 2007. This trial or study evaluated health-evidence.ca as one part of a knowledge transfer and exchange strategy for Canadian public health decision makers. Its usefulness is being evaluated through both a quantitative survey and qualitative interviews with site users. To read more about the trial, go to the Project History page. Health-evidence.ca is also being evaluated through an online survey and ongoing feedback from site users. Registered users receive updates regarding changes to the site, and those browsing have an opportunity to provide feedback through the Contact Us link from the site. Health-evidence.ca staff aim to respond to e-mail from the web site contact us link within 24 hours, and changes and ideas suggested are addressed or added to our ‘wish list’ of ideas to follow up as funding and resources allow. We value users’ opinions and hope to gather more feedback from the web site in addition to user surveys.




10. Is there a discussion group related to your site that I can join?
    

    Currently, we are looking into the development of a discussion group where users can meet, ask and answer questions, and network with other members of public health. This group will be moderated to ensure appropriate content. We thank you for your patience as we look into how to best provide service that is both high quality and useful to decision makers.

If there are questions, concerns, or feedback you would like us to respond to,
please feel free to Contact Us.